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Calf's Liver with Bacon
Have six slices of fresh, tender calf's liver one-third inch thick. Place on a dish with a tablespoon oil. Season with half teaspoon salt and one-quarter teaspoon white pepper. Repeatedly roll the slices in the seasoning until the oil is all absorbed. Arrange the slices on a double broiler and broil on the fire for five minutes on each side. Remove, dress on a hot dish with six slices of bacon on top and serve.
A one-paragraph recipe that assumes a coal fire and a hinged wire broiler. Two things need attention: the cooking time, and the fact that the bacon is never mentioned as being cooked at all.
- The hinge: cut the timeFive minutes a side on a third-inch slice will leave the liver grey, dry and grainy. Over high heat, 1 to 2 minutes a side is enough; pull it while the centre is still faintly rosy, as it firms further off the heat.
- "Double broiler"Not a double boiler. This is a hinged wire basket that clamps the slices between two grids so they can be turned over the coals in one motion. A ridged cast-iron grill pan or a very hot heavy skillet gives the same result indoors; under a modern overhead broiler, use the top rack with the element fully preheated.
- "Broil on the fire"In the period this recipe comes from, this meant directly over live coals, radiant heat from below. A modern gas or electric broiler heats from above and is generally less fierce at the surface of the food, so preheat it fully and work close to the element.
- The baconThe recipe simply dresses six slices of bacon on top and says nothing about cooking them. Fry or broil them separately until crisp, and keep them warm; the liver takes only a couple of minutes and should not wait.
- Buying the liverCalf's liver is milder and finer-grained than beef liver and is worth seeking out at a butcher; beef liver substituted here will taste considerably stronger. Ask for it sliced a third of an inch, and peel off any silvery outer membrane or it will curl and toughen on the heat.
- Seasoning methodThe rolling in oil, salt and white pepper until the oil is absorbed is a dry marinade that does double duty as a non-stick coating. Do it just before cooking, not an hour ahead, since salt draws moisture out and the surface needs to be dry to sear.
- YieldSix slices with six of bacon serves six as a course, or three as a substantial main plate. Traditional accompaniments are fried onions, mashed potato, or nothing more than lemon.
Liver and bacon is a long-established partnership in European cooking, and the logic is simple: liver is very lean and dries out over fire, while bacon supplies the fat and salt it lacks. Calf's liver in particular carried real prestige into the twentieth century — Italian fegato alla veneziana, French foie de veau and English liver and bacon all draw on the same prized cut, and its appearance in the "World's Kitchen" section of a book that ranges across national cuisines reflects that ubiquity rather than any single origin.